Can anyone tell me how frequent the port buses are at Civitavecchia, do they pick up from each ship or do they wait at a particular point on dock. Also from what time do they start running and what time do they stop i.e. what is the return procedure for coming back to your ship?

Hi Sandy, we just came back from our cruise, which is the best vacations I've ever had. In Civitavecchia, we took the first shuttle and it was at 7H30. The bus was waiting near the ship. When you are on a cruise, they tell you at what time you have to be back. On the way back, we got off the train, walked to the entrance of the port, and there were about 5 or 6 buses waiting for the passengers. Each one was identified with the name of the ship. I think they ran every 15 minutes.

Hi Sandy
I also just returned from the Millenium cruise and we didn't wait for the port buses and just took a cab to the train statin. We got out of the ship and immediately caught a cab and got us to the train station for a 7:45 train. Another point against getting the shuttle bus is that it does not take you to the actual train station, it drops you off somewhere, where you have to get a cab (or walk) to the train aftewards.. so you would not be able to catch a train until about 8:30.. Just some food for thought..

I am asking a similar question. We are arriving (disembarking) from our Costa Cruise on August 6, 2007 at Civitavecchia between 7 - 8 am. Our flight departs from Fiumicino Airport in Rome at 12:30 pm. and is an International Flight. We are a little nervous about getting to the airport on time from the Port. Could someone please give us exact instructions on how to best proceed with the best price possible. We were planning on taking the shuttle bus or cab from the cruise terminal to the Train station in Civitavecchia, then taking train to the Rome Terminal and the Leonardo Express to Fiumicino Airport. Also, can someone share how much they paid in total from the cab or shuttle fare all the way to the airport including the train and Leo Express train? Thank you so much. This is our first cruise and are a little nervous about the time allotted to get back to the airport. Our ticket cannot be changed without penalty at this point.

Nancy, I will be honest with you and suggest that you pay for transfers directly from the port to the airport. You would be able to do this through your ship, or you could hire a taxi or even arrange, on-line for transfers. This will have you at the airport in plenty of time for your flight. However, if you have your heart set on doing this by train its possible, but a bit difficult if you have a lot of luggage. The Leonardo Express departs from a track at the very far end of the Rome Termini so you will have a bit of a hike. You might also have a bit of a problem getting a taxi to take you from the pier to the "Civ" train station because its such a short fare. The taxis at the pier will be looking for better fares to Rome or to the airport. The cost of using trains is pretty reasonable...I believe the Leonardo Express is about $17 and the train from "Civ" to Rome is pretty cheap (I dont know the current fare but its probably less than $10). There is a free port shuttle bus that can take you from the ship to the port entrance and from there its about a 10 min walk to the train station (depending on your luggage situation this also might be a problem). I do not know the going rate for a taxi from the pier to the airport, but I would expect its over 120 Euros. Pre-arranged transfers can easily cost 150 Euros...so its sure worth finding out how much your cruise line charges for the transfers.

Hi,
just for your information.
The train from Civitavecchia to Roma Termini costs about 4 Euro p.p., the express train to the airport is about 11,5 Euro. Unfortunately it´s quite strenous to get to the station and doing the whole journey.
As costa offers transfer to the airport for 25 Euro, you should take that into consideration, too.
We were on the costa victoria in may, and were at the airport at 10:00 am using costa transfer, this is defintely faster than using the trains.

Last month, after disembarking in Civitavecchia, we took the free shuttle to the end of the terminal. From there we took a private taxi to our hotel one block away from the Vatican. It cost us 100 euros and he gave us his phone number. A few days later, after phoning him, the same driver picked us up right on time at 4:00 am. He took us from our hotel to the Fiumicino Airport for 40 euros including tip.

Concerning the original question about the port buses, we embarked on the ship at Cvitavecchia. It appears that all cruise lines have shuttles at this port because it is a necessity. The boats are located a long ways from the port entrance. It appears that all the shuttles are complimentary and would pick you up and drop you off at or near your ship. From the port entrance where the shuttle would drop you off,it is about a 10 minute walk to the train station. I believe the trains to Termini are quite frequent but do take about an hour or so, but as someone said only about 5 euros one way. If this is a port stop and not a port of embarkation or disembarkation, just remember the time you have and to allow time to get back to the ship. Sometimes trains are better bets than taxis or buses because you don't know of traffic conditions which could cause delays. Of course a train can run late too.

I was also wondering about taking the train from Civitavecchia to Rome and back. There are about 8 of us and some of my family are a little nervous taking the train and making it back on time. It looks like there are few trains so if we miss one, we can always take the next one. We are going to be in Rome on Sunday. Does anyone know what the traffic is like on Sundays? I know traffic can be very busy but are Sunday's even worse? I would like to spend as much time as possible in Rome and don't really want to spend 1 1/2 hrs each way on a tour bus if I don't have to. How early do you have to get to the train station before they leave? Do they usually fill up quickly? Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated. We are leaving on August 9 on the Emerald Princess and can't wait.
Thank you Dora

If the bus can get you there in 1 1/2 hrs, that is not bad. Even if you take a private taxi from the port, it is still going to take you at least an hour to get to city center and that is taking the Autostrade (toll interstate). The only problem with Rome on Sunday is that you won't get to tour the Vatican Museum.